Published: Wednesday, April 9, 2014 at 11:41 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, April 9, 2014 at 11:41 p.m.

Seven candidates vying for three open seats on the Henderson County Board of Commissioners squared off at a League of Women Voters forum Wednesday night in the city's Operations Center.

Voters in May's primary election will be asked to choose among candidates in three districts. In district one, incumbent Mike Edney is up against newcomers Andrew Riddle and Hogan Corn. In district 3, incumbent Larry Young is running against Bill Lapsley, and in district 4, incumbent Tommy Thompson is vying for re-election against Tim Griffin.

Candidates leaned into microphones to field a total of 25 questions, ranging in topics from animal cruelty and teacher pay to taxes and the county's fiscal health. But debates grew heated when candidates delved into the issues of water rights and Wingate's new venture in Henderson County.

Candidates were given one minute to answer each question.

“Mr. Edney, this is a question directed to you and it's about water,” said the forum's emcee, Judy Katz, president of the League. “Please go through the sequence of the negotiations between Henderson and Buncombe counties regarding the water deal when you were a commissioner in the 1990s; and is it true that the land is going back to Buncombe County?”

“The short version is the city of Asheville was running out of water. They had two or three huge water users. Their water lines were leaking left and right and they were in serious trouble,” said Edney, an incumbent who is in his 12th year of service with the board of commissioners.

“They went to the voters and asked for Buncombe County to try to put a water intake on the French Broad River. The voters turned that down primarily because of the filth of the water in the French Broad. As I understand it, a lot of things happened. At some point they came to Henderson County looking to put an intake on the Mills River. Actually Mills River does not have enough water to support their long-term needs.”

Flagged by a timekeeper, he asked if he should continue.

“It's a very complicated issue,” Katz said, turning to Riddle with a follow-up question.

“In two minutes, I'd like to summarize this,” Riddle began. “In 1985, Asheville, Buncombe County realized that they were short on water. In 1992, Commissioner Edney here, along with four others, one voted against it, agreed to trade water from Mills River in exchange for 137 acres of prime real estate on the French Broad River that borders I-26. We traded those.

"The agreement was that we would build a waste treatment plant on that 137 acres. We haven't. OK, 22 years later the city of Asheville not only draws water from Mills River but the French Broad. On July 15, Henderson County, you folks, you taxpayers are scheduled to give that 137 acres back to the city of Asheville.”

Edney disagreed.

“Now, if you want the truth, I'll be happy to give it to you,” he said. “First of all, there was never a trade, OK? The understanding and agreement was that the Bent Creek property would be used to basically negotiate with the MSD (municipal service district) to allow them to put a waste treatment plant over there. They determined they did not need that. The land was never intended to be given to Hendersonville or Henderson County, either one. We didn't have plans really to get any value out of it.”

Under the pressure of a stop sign held by the forum's timekeeper, Edney added, “We can't discuss it tonight, but we'll get into it though… It's rather complicated, and half-truths are not going to get us anywhere.”

“Does anybody else want to comment on the water issue?” Katz asked.

Riddle added that he could provide a deed “that clarifies the situation in terms that are simple, explainable, and we are giving the city of Asheville 137 acres in less than three months.”

Segueing to the next question, Katz said, “we've studied this issue in various ways and it showed there are some bad effects to Henderson County and its…”

Edney interjected that good things have come from the water deal as well. “All of the development on (Highway) 280, $30 million-$40 million worth of investment and a lot of jobs are a result of that water agreement. A lot of good came out of it,” he said.

All candidates agreed that they would commit to keeping water rights under local control.

Wingate's win-win

“Do you support or not support Wingate in the initial talks with Pardee Hospital?” Katz asked.

Edney said that initial talks started before he came on the board. “Since I've been on (the) board, I've been a huge supporter of Wingate,” he said.

“I mean in its latest move,” Katz clarified. Officials from Wingate, Pardee, Blue Ridge Community College and county and city government announced last week that they have found a new home for Wingate University and BRCC to expand their health care education programming in Henderson County.

The city has a contract to buy property near the hospital to house the new campus.

“I think it's one of the greatest things since sliced bread,” Edney said.

Griffin, vying for incumbent Tommy Thompson's seat, said that although he is not currently on the board and wasn't there when the deals were made, he thinks it is “going to be great. That part of town, again, there's going to be more development there. Obviously, it's going to be more jobs. You're going to have kids that can come into Blue Ridge Community College and can come out of Wingate with a plethora of degrees. But how can you go wrong with providing in-town education, jobs and partnering with a great college?”

Thompson said he supported the new campus “from one end to the other” serving as one of BRCC's ambassadors, on the board of Pardee Hospital and as a county commissioner. “I think it's an absolutely wonderful venture,” he said.

Young, serving his 12th year in office, said that he was the reason Wingate came to Henderson County.

“When Wingate made the offer to come to Henderson County, they had to have the cooperation of the three hospitals in this area, Pardee, Park Ridge and the VA (Veterans Affairs),” Young said. “They got the VA proposal, the letter of cooperation. They got one from Park Ridge. The executive committee of the (Pardee) hospital board voted not to give them that letter of cooperation … and we didn't know nothing about it until after an economic development director come before the Henderson County Board of Commissioners and stated that Wingate was headed to Greensboro.

"I said, 'What are you talking about?' We didn't even know anything about it because the chairman of our Board of Commissioners was on the hospital board and he did not come back and tell us that this had even been put on the table. So I got with the hospital board and got them to change their vote and give that letter of cooperation. I took the letter to Dr. Jerry McGee, president of Wingate, and saved it from going to Greensboro.”

He supported it, he said, touting the school's new campus as “the best thing” for Henderson County.

Lapsley, challenging Young for his seat, insinuated that Young used strong-arm tactics to secure the deal.

“I think a little bit of background should be spent here,” Lapsley said. “I was the chair of the Pardee Hospital board at the time this came up. In March of 2010, the Pardee board was approached by UNC School of Medicine Pharmacy School to joint venture with them in hosting pharmacy students at UNC medical school at Pardee Hospital. Two months later, Pardee got a letter from Wingate indicating they wanted to have pharmacy students at Pardee. Their letter said they wanted Pardee to be the only provider for pharmacy students. They wanted Pardee to kick out, to boot out the UNC pharmacy school students.

"The Pardee board said 'No, we made a commitment to UNC; we're going to keep it.' The Pardee board discussed it again several months later and Mr. Young came to several members of the Pardee board and threatened our board members and said, 'I'm going to fire all of you. I'm going to kill the joint venture project on the county line.' And worst of all, 'I'm going to see that Pardee Hospital gets sold.' And that's a fact.”

“That's a lie,” Young interjected. “Let me say this, all you have to do is call Dr. Jerry McGee at Wingate and he'll tell you the full story. And the reason that they didn't want to cooperate with Wingate, guess why? Because they were going to cooperate with UNC over at UNC-A, Asheville. Well what does that do for Henderson County?”

Corn, vying for Edney's seat, said he thought it was a “win-win situation.”

Riddle said the county should be cautious before celebrating. “I think the property needs to be sold first before we can fully say that it's a happening thing. This board of commissioners has been known in the past to say something was going to happen and then it didn't because a property couldn't sell,” he said.

“There's been a lot of things in the past with this board, but I believe transparency might be a good idea. I think you folks might need to know what's happening and be included. After all, it's your money. If it does happen, which I hope it does, it would be great for this community. It would be a solid backbone and it would certainly help Pardee Hospital, which we need to treasure as a community hospital.”

<p>Seven candidates vying for three open seats on the Henderson County Board of Commissioners squared off at a League of Women Voters forum Wednesday night in the city's Operations Center.</p><p>Voters in May's primary election will be asked to choose among candidates in three districts. In district one, incumbent Mike Edney is up against newcomers Andrew Riddle and Hogan Corn. In district 3, incumbent Larry Young is running against Bill Lapsley, and in district 4, incumbent Tommy Thompson is vying for re-election against Tim Griffin.</p><p>Candidates leaned into microphones to field a total of 25 questions, ranging in topics from animal cruelty and teacher pay to taxes and the county's fiscal health. But debates grew heated when candidates delved into the issues of water rights and Wingate's new venture in Henderson County.</p><p>Candidates were given one minute to answer each question.</p><p>“Mr. Edney, this is a question directed to you and it's about water,” said the forum's emcee, Judy Katz, president of the League. “Please go through the sequence of the negotiations between Henderson and Buncombe counties regarding the water deal when you were a commissioner in the 1990s; and is it true that the land is going back to Buncombe County?”</p><p>“The short version is the city of Asheville was running out of water. They had two or three huge water users. Their water lines were leaking left and right and they were in serious trouble,” said Edney, an incumbent who is in his 12th year of service with the board of commissioners.</p><p>“They went to the voters and asked for Buncombe County to try to put a water intake on the French Broad River. The voters turned that down primarily because of the filth of the water in the French Broad. As I understand it, a lot of things happened. At some point they came to Henderson County looking to put an intake on the Mills River. Actually Mills River does not have enough water to support their long-term needs.”</p><p>Flagged by a timekeeper, he asked if he should continue.</p><p>“It's a very complicated issue,” Katz said, turning to Riddle with a follow-up question.</p><p>“In two minutes, I'd like to summarize this,” Riddle began. “In 1985, Asheville, Buncombe County realized that they were short on water. In 1992, Commissioner Edney here, along with four others, one voted against it, agreed to trade water from Mills River in exchange for 137 acres of prime real estate on the French Broad River that borders I-26. We traded those.</p><p>"The agreement was that we would build a waste treatment plant on that 137 acres. We haven't. OK, 22 years later the city of Asheville not only draws water from Mills River but the French Broad. On July 15, Henderson County, you folks, you taxpayers are scheduled to give that 137 acres back to the city of Asheville.”</p><p>Edney disagreed.</p><p>“Now, if you want the truth, I'll be happy to give it to you,” he said. “First of all, there was never a trade, OK? The understanding and agreement was that the Bent Creek property would be used to basically negotiate with the MSD (municipal service district) to allow them to put a waste treatment plant over there. They determined they did not need that. The land was never intended to be given to Hendersonville or Henderson County, either one. We didn't have plans really to get any value out of it.”</p><p>Under the pressure of a stop sign held by the forum's timekeeper, Edney added, “We can't discuss it tonight, but we'll get into it though… It's rather complicated, and half-truths are not going to get us anywhere.”</p><p>“Does anybody else want to comment on the water issue?” Katz asked.</p><p>Riddle added that he could provide a deed “that clarifies the situation in terms that are simple, explainable, and we are giving the city of Asheville 137 acres in less than three months.”</p><p>Segueing to the next question, Katz said, “we've studied this issue in various ways and it showed there are some bad effects to Henderson County and its…”</p><p>Edney interjected that good things have come from the water deal as well. “All of the development on (Highway) 280, $30 million-$40 million worth of investment and a lot of jobs are a result of that water agreement. A lot of good came out of it,” he said.</p><p>All candidates agreed that they would commit to keeping water rights under local control.</p><p> <b>Wingate's win-win</b></p><p></p><p>“Do you support or not support Wingate in the initial talks with Pardee Hospital?” Katz asked.</p><p>Edney said that initial talks started before he came on the board. “Since I've been on (the) board, I've been a huge supporter of Wingate,” he said.</p><p>“I mean in its latest move,” Katz clarified. Officials from Wingate, Pardee, Blue Ridge Community College and county and city government announced last week that they have found a new home for Wingate University and BRCC to expand their health care education programming in Henderson County.</p><p>The city has a contract to buy property near the hospital to house the new campus.</p><p>“I think it's one of the greatest things since sliced bread,” Edney said.</p><p>Griffin, vying for incumbent Tommy Thompson's seat, said that although he is not currently on the board and wasn't there when the deals were made, he thinks it is “going to be great. That part of town, again, there's going to be more development there. Obviously, it's going to be more jobs. You're going to have kids that can come into Blue Ridge Community College and can come out of Wingate with a plethora of degrees. But how can you go wrong with providing in-town education, jobs and partnering with a great college?”</p><p>Thompson said he supported the new campus “from one end to the other” serving as one of BRCC's ambassadors, on the board of Pardee Hospital and as a county commissioner. “I think it's an absolutely wonderful venture,” he said.</p><p>Young, serving his 12th year in office, said that he was the reason Wingate came to Henderson County.</p><p>“When Wingate made the offer to come to Henderson County, they had to have the cooperation of the three hospitals in this area, Pardee, Park Ridge and the VA (Veterans Affairs),” Young said. “They got the VA proposal, the letter of cooperation. They got one from Park Ridge. The executive committee of the (Pardee) hospital board voted not to give them that letter of cooperation … and we didn't know nothing about it until after an economic development director come before the Henderson County Board of Commissioners and stated that Wingate was headed to Greensboro.</p><p>"I said, 'What are you talking about?' We didn't even know anything about it because the chairman of our Board of Commissioners was on the hospital board and he did not come back and tell us that this had even been put on the table. So I got with the hospital board and got them to change their vote and give that letter of cooperation. I took the letter to Dr. Jerry McGee, president of Wingate, and saved it from going to Greensboro.”</p><p>He supported it, he said, touting the school's new campus as “the best thing” for Henderson County.</p><p>Lapsley, challenging Young for his seat, insinuated that Young used strong-arm tactics to secure the deal.</p><p>“I think a little bit of background should be spent here,” Lapsley said. “I was the chair of the Pardee Hospital board at the time this came up. In March of 2010, the Pardee board was approached by UNC School of Medicine Pharmacy School to joint venture with them in hosting pharmacy students at UNC medical school at Pardee Hospital. Two months later, Pardee got a letter from Wingate indicating they wanted to have pharmacy students at Pardee. Their letter said they wanted Pardee to be the only provider for pharmacy students. They wanted Pardee to kick out, to boot out the UNC pharmacy school students.</p><p>"The Pardee board said 'No, we made a commitment to UNC; we're going to keep it.' The Pardee board discussed it again several months later and Mr. Young came to several members of the Pardee board and threatened our board members and said, 'I'm going to fire all of you. I'm going to kill the joint venture project on the county line.' And worst of all, 'I'm going to see that Pardee Hospital gets sold.' And that's a fact.”</p><p>“That's a lie,” Young interjected. “Let me say this, all you have to do is call Dr. Jerry McGee at Wingate and he'll tell you the full story. And the reason that they didn't want to cooperate with Wingate, guess why? Because they were going to cooperate with UNC over at UNC-A, Asheville. Well what does that do for Henderson County?”</p><p>“OK, I think you've answered it. Both of you,” Katz said, turning to newcomer Hogan Corn.</p><p>Corn, vying for Edney's seat, said he thought it was a “win-win situation.”</p><p>Riddle said the county should be cautious before celebrating. “I think the property needs to be sold first before we can fully say that it's a happening thing. This board of commissioners has been known in the past to say something was going to happen and then it didn't because a property couldn't sell,” he said.</p><p>“There's been a lot of things in the past with this board, but I believe transparency might be a good idea. I think you folks might need to know what's happening and be included. After all, it's your money. If it does happen, which I hope it does, it would be great for this community. It would be a solid backbone and it would certainly help Pardee Hospital, which we need to treasure as a community hospital.”</p><p>Reach Weaver at Emily.weaver@blueridgenow.com or 828-694-7867.</p>